RuRal land Policy, RuRal TRansfoRmaTion and RecenT TRends in laRge-scale RuRal land acquisiTions in eThioPiagetnet alemu, Addis Ababa University

RURAl lAnd Policy, RURAl TRAnsfoRmATion And RecenT TRends in lARge-scAle RURAl lAnd AcqUisiTions in eThioPiA

synoPsis

This paper examines the impact of rural land policy on rural transformation and food-self-sufficiency in ethio-pia. it also looks at the relation this has with recent trends in large-scale rural land acquisitions.

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This paper served as a background paper to the European Report on Development

2011/2012: Confronting scarcity: Managing water, energy and land for inclusive and

sustainable growth. The European Report on Development was prepared by the

Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in partnership with the Deutsches Institut fr

Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and the European Centre for Development Policy Management

(ECDPM).

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors, and should not

be taken to be the views of the European Report on Development, of the European

Commission, of the European Union Member States or of the commissioning institutes.

Rural land policy, rural transformation and recent trends in large-scale land acquisitions in Ethiopia

inheritance (FDRE, Proc. No. 456/2005, Art. 8.5) to members of their family and can also

rent/lease part of their holdings to other farmers or investors for a specified period (FDRE,

Proc. No. 456/2005, Art.8.1). The federal rural land proclamation on land transfer through

donation and inheritance clearly states that being a rural resident and engaged or wishing to

engage in agriculture is a condition of eligibility, while transfer through rent/lease can be for

rural and urban residents who are or wish to be engaged in agriculture.

The same is true of rural land proclamations by different regional states. Rural land

proclamations by ANRS state that holders of rural land may transfer their land-use rights

through inheritance to family members who are or wish to be engaged in agriculture (ANRS,

Proc. No. 133/2006, Art. 16.1).10 Succession only comes into effect on the death of the

landholder (EPLAUA, 2008:14). In the SNNPRS, the proclamation says that transfer through

inheritance only applies to rights holders in the family (SNNPRS, Proc. No. 110/2007, Art. 8.5).

The same is true in ONRS (ONRS, Proc. No. 130/2007, Art.9.1). The proclamations in ONRS

and SNNPRS make being a rural resident a condition for inheriting rural land.

Rural land that is transferred through inheritance must be in compliance with the minimum

size of holding (FDRE, Proc. No. 456/2005, Art.11.2).11,12

7 Based on this guide, regional governments decide on the minimum size. For instance, the regulation of ANRS states

that when land is granted the size should not be less than 0.2 ha if the land is rain-fed and 0.06 ha if the land is irrigated (ANRS, Regulation No. 51/2007 Art. 7). Similarly, the proclamation of ONRS, Proc. No. 130/2007 also fixes

the minimum size: 0.5 ha for annual crops and 0.25 ha for perennial crops (Art. 7). The SNNPRS proclamation (Proc. No. 110/2007 Art. 11.1), provides 0.5 ha if the land is rain-fed and 0.5 ha if the land granted is cultivable through irrigation constructed...